(Closed) Activities for Guests, or Just Let ’em Mingle?

We are having a brunch reception with no dancing. I have thought that for a late morning outdoor reception, having a delicious brunch, catching up with friends and family, and enjoying the lovely day should be enough of an "agenda" for a 3 / 3 1/2 hour reception. We will have a Polaroid photo booth as our "guestbook" so that will be an activity for guests.

Still, my mom thinks we should have things for them to "DO". Without dancing or a formal agenda, do you think they will be bored?

May I ask why no dancing? Is it a budget issue? I’ve personally never been to a wedding with no dancing, but then again I’ve never been to a daytime wedding so I don’t know if that’s a standard thing for that time period.

As for activities, hmmmmmmm. I don’t know what I would want to do. The Polaroid booth is a super fun idea, but that won’t take people very long. Would I be bored? I guess it depends on how many people I knew there. If your wedding is small – just family and close friends – and everyone pretty much knows each other well enough, then I think it’s fine to just mingle and enjoy the food and the day. If not, though, people might be expecting something extra.

You could have one activity to appease your mom. There have been several mentions of trivia cards, a crossword, or even Mad Libs! I think there was a post on Pro about programs with these kinds of games on them.

We had trivia cards and spent some time talking with our guests about the answers. I also wanted to do mad libs but we decided that too many games would make it feel more like a shower or a kid’s party rather than our wedding reception. Everyone really enjoyed themselves and we had no "planned" activities other than chatting and enjoying everyone’s company.

I agree with the above posters – if you’re not really feeling activities but your mom would like them, a good compromise would be those "quiet" activities – such as trivia, lawn games, madlibs, etc. That way, those who want to participate can, and those who want to mingle can do so as well. Good luck!

We’re not having dancing for a few reasons: 1) I feel like a brunch isn’t a "party" atmosphere, 2) we’re having an evening party where there will be dancing and 3) I have quite a few family members that are opposed to dancing for religious reasons & I want them to be able to take part in the reception.

I agree that trivia games and that sort of thing can be too shower / birthday party like. Lawn games aren’t really my family’s style, I can’t imagine many people I know playing croquet. I was thinking about old fashioned board games like checkers? That would make for cute pictures.